The Valour of Mizuho
by Ravan Pyreloft
Summary: A place where the worlds were never divided and the Church of Martel runs the way of the world. A holy crusade led by Commander Lloyd Irving must lead men in the name of the Chosen, Collette. Mizuho, proud and unwavering, must defend their way of life.
1. The commander of faith

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or the characters involved; this is a what-of story series. What if the worlds were never divided and a chosen are born rarely but when they are born they end up leading the world for the time they live. The Church of Martel has recently established a council that speaks for the chosen and under the name of the chosen, a crusade has begun.

**Valour of Mizuho**

The heroic commander of the Church of Martel, Lloyd Irving, sat at the elegantly prepared table, draped in crimson cloth with fine silver set along the long surface with more food than one being could hope to devour; his swords lying on the table in front of him as he sat back and tipped a cup of wine to his lips. Lately, Lloyd found himself haunted by memories the sins he did and the lives he took in the name of duty while performing the will of the Church; wine helped suppress those memories after a few glasses filled with the blood like substance.

"Lloyd?" spoke a soft tone from behind.

Lloyd stirred in his chair which in turn caused him to lower the glass from his lips, glancing over his shoulder to see the chosen, Colette; she was always was a kind, gentle, and peaceful woman but due to such traits she lacked the strength of voice and always let the council speak for her, believing they knew what was best for the world.

"Chosen Colette," Lloyd spoke lightly as he stood up from his chair and turned to face the lovely young woman with a polite bow of his head, while standing at attention before her.

Colette gave a soft smile before glancing to his hand to see the crystalline cup with the noticeable elixir of forgotten memories inside which caused her smile faded slightly. "Are you still being haunted?" Colette frowned sadly, placing her hand over her heart lightly.

Lloyd glanced down at the glass before letting out a light sigh as well; he always tried to hide his drinking habits from Colette but she always had very keen timing to catch him. It wasn't that he wanted to keep secrets from her; it was more because that he didn't want to worry her so much.

"It is nothing to worry about," Lloyd stalled as thoughts quickly raced through his mind; giving a playful smile he raised the glass once more. "This is actually a celebration in the successful conversion of Oz-Tara." Lloyd lied, not a trait he was proud of but his rough training allowed him to be able to hide his emotions and intentions. Basic interrogation and torture numbing tactics proved to serve him well when fibbing.

"Oh really?" Colette smiled faintly while stepping closer. "I do hope it was a peaceful conversion." She added.

"It was, Colette." Lloyd confessed as he looked over to his cup and then lowered it back to hip level again. "That is why I am celebrating, a peaceful conversion is worth that honour, wouldn't you agree?" the red uniformed commander asked in a calm tone.

"I agree," Colette nodded with a light smile.

Lloyd had joined the church guard at the tender age to 16 by the behest of the chosen Colette when she became old enough to rule and for the next 6 years, Lloyd honed his skills as a knight of the church. He fought on the front lines ever since the Crusade had begun and survived many encounters that he thought for sure he should have died in. These victories led to award ceremonies where he was given medals for his efforts and rewarded for the people he killed, the innocents he slaughtered…rewarded for such bloodshed, such a twisted concept that is what Lloyd always thought. Now Lloyd was promoted, at the young age of 22, Lloyd became one of the few commanders of the church as they believed him to have the direct blessing from the Goddess Martel. Four years had passed since his promotion, the only good thing that really spawned from the blood he has spilled was that his skills become spread throughout the lands; due to that. Lloyd had his own minor legend floating around now about how great he was—most of the stories were fictitious but they worked—and that has led to many unconverted villages willing to peacefully negotiate a conversion to the Church of Martel and cast aside their old ways of life to embrace a new, brighter and prosperous future…at least that is what Lloyd was told to convince others. The war times were over…but now his dreams were stained, soaked in the blood he had spilled in the name of the church.

Colette never believed in the war and she never wished for people to be forced to conform to their ways of life; however she was also quite innocent minded and naive in many ways. The newly appointed counsel to the chosen were convincing her to leave the decisions to them and they would aid in doing what is right for the lands. Colette lacked the strength of voice to say no and Lloyd knew that. Colette served as nothing more than a symbol that the counsel used to justify their actions and make the people of the kingdom agree. Lloyd knew that the counsel only served themselves and the king. He tried many times to tell Colette the truth but she would smile it off and change the topic; she was never much for any serious confrontations.

Chosen were born very rare, once every several generations, and when they were born, they were considered to be the top of power over the lands, in the absence of a chosen than the duties to rule fall onto the royal family; however, the royal family still had to be careful what they did with their power whereas the chosen always had the complete and undivided devotion of the people since the chosen was seen as the child of the Goddess Martel.

"How have you been?" Lloyd asked passively, keeping a reassuring smile to keep the chosen at ease.

"I have been fine, Lloyd…a little lonely here without you." Colette confessed as she cast her sky-blue eyes to the ground at a side glance. "I miss the days you used to always be at my side."

"I know Colette…I do too." Lloyd spoke as he extended his hand, letting the chosen take his hand in both of hers, she held onto it with a smile. "These conversions have required all my attention as of late…and I know you have your duties to tend to as the chosen." Lloyd nodded.

"I did not ask for this, Lloyd." Colette frowned slightly. "I did not grow up wishing I would become a holy ruler."

"But you knew your entire life that this would happen eventually." Lloyd responded.

"You know I wanted you to be on my counsel though." Colette reminded.

"I know you did and I know the counsel advised heavily against it because I know nothing of how the world worked or politics." Lloyd nodded once, he was too young to know how the world worked back then…but his eyes were wide open now to the darker side of politics.

"You are wiser now, I can bring you in again…and I won't be lonely anymore…and you won't be haunted by such awful memories anymore." Colette desperately spoke, rubbing his hand lightly.

"That is quite selfish though, isn't it Chosen?" Lloyd whispered lightly.

"What do you mean?" Colette spoke; her eyes widened in surprise at his response to her.

"My very image is what could stop more blood from spilling onto the grounds during these dark times of conversion. By taking me away, we could start a war with the next village we try to convert." Lloyd confessed, knowing what he says to be true…the Church of Martel used him like a pawn to strike fear into the hearts of potential enemies.

"I can…stop these conversions." Colette spoke in a weakened, whispered tone.

Lloyd gave the beautiful woman a comforting smile as he rubbed his thumb along her fingers lightly. "No, Colette…you won't…you can't…the counsel would not stand for it." Lloyd replied using a tone of comfort.

"I…" Colette tried to speak, words were robbed from her however as she lowered her head.

`"We both have something we need to be doing." Lloyd nodded.

"I…don't want to do this anymore…I haven't for years." Colette confessed.

"Chosen!" called a voice from the distance.

Both sets of eyes looked off to the side to see Colette's usual group of bodyguards starting to walk towards her. Lloyd always considered them to be the counsel's eyes when the counsel was not around to keep tabs on her themselves. They tried to act like her shadow and follow her everywhere she went so they could dictate what she does with her time.

"Chosen please, you have urgent duties to tend to." One of the guards spoke.

"But…I was…" Colette spoke softly.

"This is a matter of importance…we insist." The guard spoke as he extended his arm in an inviting manner for Colette to take her leave and come with them.

Colette looked over to Lloyd in silent desperation but was only met with Lloyd looking to her and then letting out a deep breath as his brown eyes glanced down to his glass. Colette slipped her fingers from his hand as she folded them over her lap, closing her eyes she turned and let the guards guide her to her next location where she was needed to be.

"Commander Irving, might I suggest you report to Grand Cardinal Wilder." The guard said in a firm tone, taking a tone of demand more than advising.

"What?" Lloyd blinked as he lifted the glass to his lips. "You actually taking a tone with me?" Lloyd felt the aura of commander start to manifest when a such a tone was taken with him from a man who just took Colette away from him.

"Not at all, sir, it would just be safe to assume that you need to be focusing on the problems of our present then taking up time that the Chosen cannot spare." The guard sharply stated.

"I would watch—" Lloyd started before the guard lifted his hand up in a manner of wishing for silence as well as submission.

"Report to Grand Cardinal Wilder—Now, sir." The guard demanded passively before turning around and walking down the hallways so he could catch up with the rest of his group.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly before downing the rest of his glass and semi-slamming the glass onto the table. A slight discontent sneer curving Lloyd's lip before scooping up his swords and sliding them into their respective spots at his sides and turning around to walk towards the Grand Cardinal's room.

This was the last thing that Lloyd wanted to do; he had no wish to spend his day in the company of the Grand Cardinal and his bratty, spoiled son Zelos Wilder.

-Later on in the day-

Lloyd walked down the stairs that led away from the Church after spending hours in the presence of the Grand Cardinal, the meeting was droll as he predicted and proved to be a complete waste of his time. As if enduring the Grand Cardinal was not enough, now he was stuck with his adolescent son, Zelos.

"So what is it like?" Zelos wondered openly.

"What is what like?" Lloyd huffed out while he continued walking at a brisk pace.

"Oh don't be coy with me." Zelos chuckled as he jumped down the steps, two steps at a time. "What was it like dealing with savage people?"

The very word of savage made Lloyd stop in his footsteps, causing the young man to crash lightly into his shoulder but Lloyd's body did not give as Zelos took two steps back while Lloyd half turned around to meet with Commander Wilder, his eyes serious. "They are not savage, Zelos, they speak just fine and are perfectly humane with the rest of the world." Lloyd defended, his voice started to falter when he spoke the next phrase. "They live their lives just as we do and respect each other like any civilization would; they…have…families…like everyone else would." Lloyd felt a flash of a memory haunt him as he shook his head and cleared his throat. "There is nothing…savage about them, you got me?"

"Ok ok, geez…" Zelos lifted his hands.

Lloyd let out a sigh; just as he was about to turn, something caught his eyes as he glanced up to look at the church and there he saw Colette looking down at him from a window high up, she gave a weak smile while placing her hand against the window…she was worried about his latest assignment. Lloyd gave her a subtle reassuring nod before turning around and continuing his walk down the stairs.

"So then…you think we will have to fight these sa—er—non-enlightened people?" Zelos corrected himself before he found himself prey to another verbal beat down.

"I don't think so…there has not been any fighting for years." Lloyd admitted.

"So than why are they sending you all the time? There has to be some fighting happening." Zelos commented, referring to the minor legends that Lloyd had started; it was not so much legends as more along the lines of renown.

"For fear," Lloyd shrugged causally.

"For fear? What does that mean?" Zelos frowned while trailing behind his fellow commander.

"They use my image to strike fear and rob people of their will to fight…that is all." Lloyd stated in a low tone.

"Yeah yeah," Zelos waved off before feeling another surge of energy. "But do you know where we are going? Who we could be facing? The feared Igaguri Fujibayashi…you know about him?" Zelos asked aloud.

"Yes…I do." Lloyd groaned out in a slightly irritated manner.

Little did Zelos know, Lloyd actually admired Igaguri Fujibayashi, he was a master of the double sword combat and that is one of the things that started Lloyd into practising such a combat style. Igaguri was a famed warrior who never once knew what defeat was and proudly defended his people. The Chruch spent years trying to find his location and even tried to convince villages to reveal his home to them, after assimilation into their culture, these villages refused to reveal the location of Igaguri's and his peoples location. It was only recently that they discovered the rough location of the village; it was located somewhere beyond the cursed trees called Gaoracchia Forest. Igaguri was considered to be a man of honour, wisdom, valour and strength. Lloyd had done his fair share of study on him with the limited resources they had available. Lloyd knew one thing...this man was would be a man he hoped to spend time learning from and learning about on a more personal level.

"Imagine, fighting the legend himself…you know what lore says about him?" Zelos continued to ask in a relentless yet cheerful manner.

"I know everything there is to know about the man." Lloyd retorted in an irritated tone.

"They say he fought off 100 men alone and won." Zelos pointed out.

"Right…and they say I stared down a tribe of cannibal savages and brought the divine wrath of Martel down on them, felling them in a single instant." Lloyd countered as he continued his brisk pace, the footsteps of Zelos actually stopped when he said that.

"Wait…you saying that didn't happen?" Zelos asked in a bewildered tone.

"Just be careful what you believe." Lloyd called out.

Lloyd continued to walk through the streets, glancing once more his shoulder to watch as Zelos gave a nod and ran after his fellow commander. Eventually Lloyd came to the front gates where he expected to find his usual contingent of trustworthy soldiers available to him but instead found himself with full company awaiting him.

"What is this?" Lloyd asked in a low tone.

"What is what? These are our men." Zelos replied

"What happened to my men? Why are we bringing a a force of this size into a forest? Why did the Grand Cardinal not inform me of this change? It is like we are going in expecting to fight." Lloyd commented causally as he looked to the soldiers at his command, they were roughly measured at 250 men battle ready standing at attention as they waited for the word to move out.

"Well…we are going to confront Igaguri Fujibayashi." Zelos answered, avoiding the rest of the questions, be it on purpose or not remained to be seen.

"No…we're not going to confront him, we are trying to make contact with the man. There is an obvious difference between the two…this might just provoke him." Lloyd replied with an uneasy edge to his voice.

"You can try and take it up with my father," Zelos pointed out.

"Forget it…his skull is about as thick as you are annoying." Lloyd sighed out as he walked over to the men that he was given, they all stood at attention and it was his job to see how ready they were.

"Ha-ha yeah, that about sums it up—hey wait." Zelos blinked as he looked up in thought.

'_None of these men look ready for battle, half of these men look like they might just freeze on the spot. Very few have the feel of experience. If I did not know any better I would think this might have been on purpose to provoke a fight and get me killed._' Lloyd observed as he looked from one set of eyes to the next.

Lloyd was not sure these soldiers were up to the task of travelling through the Gaoracchia Forest and if his instincts served correct and he thought that maybe Igaguri Fujibayashi might be provoked from such a mass size company walking onto his lands, then he had a feeling these soldiers would be sure to fall in the battle.

Sadly, his advice meant next to nothing to the counsel or the Grand Cardinal, so with his orders given Lloyd had to march on…his destination was hopefully going to Mizuho.

Mizuho was one of the last standing villages that held onto their old ways of life and refused the Church of Martel, when given the proposition to assimilate with the rest, Mizuho cut off ties with the royal family and the church, branding themselves as outcasts. Now they stood as a symbol of the last resistence to the church and these proud people were led by the former war-hero Igaguri Fujibayashi.

-Inside the Church-

Colette look out of the window as she let out a soft, worried sigh while her eyes gazed to the front gates of Meltokio, watching the company of soldiers that included Lloyd, move out of the city.

She had a sinking feeling in her chest that she could not ignore, like this would be the last time she would see Lloyd Irving; placing her hand once more against the window she closed her eyes and tried to calm her beating heart.

'_Please…return Lloyd_.' She thought to herself, combating the grim feeling she felt deep inside.


	2. The vision from the Gods

Chapter 2

Igaguri sat in his peaceful garden with his legs crossed and eyes closed in perfect meditation, incense burned slowly at both his sides, said to calm the mind and encourage meaningful and possible life-changing visions; at least, that is why Igaguri meditated…for enlightenment.

"You know you are not supposed to eavesdrop." Igaguri calmly spoke, one eye cracking up as he turned his head and looked up, spotting his daughter hiding on the rooftops.

"Forgive me, father." Sheena spoke softly as she jumped off the rooftop and landed, almost silently, beside her father. She landed gracefully, kneeling with her hand resting on her knee and her head bowed in nothing less than utmost respect.

Igaguri only closed his eye and turned his head without saying a word; he had given up on his daughter being properly taught a woman's place a long time ago and embraced her like he would a son. Although he did not train her in the ways of the sword like he would have trained a son, instead training her in the ways of Ninjutsu as well as teaching her in the forgotten arts of Seals. Often looked down among other villages as being warriors who lack honour and kill unseen under the cloak of night. She was trained enough to defend her village should the warriors fail to defend it from enemy invasion.

Sheena shifted through the grass as silently as possible as she repositioned herself from her kneeling position to a seated one as she carefully sat down next to him. She had tried many times to meditate with him but her restless spirit never allowed her to produce any of the visions he did and that made her feel a form of shame that she had the name Fujibayashi and not share his meaningful visions…like she was disgracing him.

"You breathe too loudly." Igaguri voiced softly.

'_Well gee…sorry._' Sheena thought a little bitterly.

"Aggressive thoughts won't bring you peace." He reminded her.

Sheena's eyes went wide; she always wondered how he seemed to know what she was thinking without even looking at her or hearing her. Sheena next tried to breath out in a low, controlled breathe; however, she was surprised how difficult it seemed.

"Leave me." Igaguri whispered since her restlessness was disrupting the air of peace required to bring a soul to the calm level that opened the mind to visions.

Sheena's lips opened to protest but she knew better then to talk back to her father as she slowly stood up and bowed her head in response before turning around and silently walking out. She cursed herself to being unable to focus enough to please her father.

With a sigh, Sheena walked through the hallways of her father's house before coming to a window and resting her forearms on the window ledge while leaning forward to rest her chin on her forearms, such a striking example of the ideal woman, Sheena smiled sarcastically at that thought for a moment. The sight of Uesugi caught her eyes as she blinked once and glanced down to the streets while he walked by the front of the house, his footsteps stopping instantly as his eyes turned upwards, looking directly at the observing Sheena; being caught watching him, Sheena blushed lightly and stood up straight from the window and slowly glanced to the side nervously.

Uesugi was one of the village warriors, trained in the traditional ways and was also the one who Sheena was arranged to marry in the next coming moon. He was a fierce warrior a;though Sheena believed he lacked a personality to be honest but she would honour her father's word. Besides, Uesugi was one of the best in the village and any other woman would have been honoured to have him as her husband, whatever family name he would bear he would give grand prestige and respect to. Sheena was raised to embrace this as the traits of a perfect husband.

Uesugi wore armour as red as crimson and was trained in the art of two swords, just as her father was trained. He never wore his helmet inside the village unless he was ready to march, having long black hair tried in a braid with stern, expressionless facial features and soul-piercing eyes to match the image of a true warrior he demonstrated. He was always keenly aware of his surroundings and it showed when he could spot the most distant of eyes watching him and no ninja in the village had the skills to sneak up on him.

Meanwhile, Igaguri managed to gain insight while meditating as he breathed in deep and calmly let the air pass through his lips. The Gods had blessed him with yet another vision, just as the Gods had told him that his daughter was destined to wed the warrior in red, the Gods wished to convey another message to the loyal warrior.

His men battled deep within the Gaoracchia Forest, the sounds of battle cries rang in the distance as Igaguri dismounted his horse and landed to his feet with his men. Sheena at his side which surprised the man for a moment but did not disrupt his meditation; the Gods wished for Sheena to witness the upcoming conflict as he watched in his vision, the warriors of Martel would come and they would fall. His men surrounded one man, they surrounded a man dressed in a red uniform; his vision did not leave the man as he valiantly fought off any of the warriors who tried to step close to him...valiantly, honourably fighting to his last breath…the death of a true warrior.

His vision shifted towards the skies beyond the trees to reveal the shape of the moon.

Igaguri's eyes blinked open as he gasped lightly before glancing around his surroundings and then looking up towards the skies.

'_What was the message you wished to speak to my mind?_' Igaguri thought to himself.

He did not know just yet what the Gods wished to tell him which probably meant he was not yet ready for the answers they wished to say; However, Igaguri knew one thing now, the holy soldiers of the Church of Martel had discovered his location and as he sat there, they were on their way and it would not be long before that moon would be in the night sky. Igaguri had to prepare for the attack and for the first time, by the will of the Gods, he would need to bring Sheena onto the battlefield.

Igaguri spent the next few days organizing the warriors before the night they would be called to defend their village. Sheena kept herself a step behind and to the side of Igaguri, knowing any closer would disrespect his image as she followed him around that he strangely demanded of her.

Never had her father asked her to accompany him while he organized the warriors of the village; Sheena may have been trained in the ways of the ninja, but the fact still remained that she was still just a woman of the village. She was the only female ninja and any ninja were left behind as a final defence to the village and so it stood out to every set of eyes that Sheena was present.

Sheena glanced to the side to see Uesugi in full combat armour but was quick to advert her eyes, not only to hide her faint blush but also cause you were never to stare at a warrior in full dress and since Sheena was not wedded to him yet, she was not permitted to look upon him in his full armour; only family were allowed to look at or help a warrior in and out of their battle regalia. Sheena had seen Uesugi's armour enough times to know the basics of it, studded leather bound to solid plates over the chest and back; square, colourful and protective shoulder guards that were normally designed to add a noble appearance as well as protective practicality over the limbs; steel plating tied to the warriors forearms that covered over the back of their hands but not forming a full gauntlet, their hands had thick leather gloves so they could retain finger mobility. Plate strips were placed together vertically and bound by leather and silk to form a protective, flexible, and fashionable square-shaped skirt that protected them from hips to knees; practical shin plating was also provided to supplement the plated kilt. The helmet protected their head and many of them varied depending on the warrior that decided to embody in combat, all helmets had an umbrella like bottom so that blows from weapons would just slide off the helmet harmlessly; the last thing to complete the armour set would be the ceremonial war mask, crafted to compliment the helmet and just like the helmet was made strictly for that warrior, unique on it's own, this was the part of the warriors attire that Sheena was not allowed to look at when it was on the warrior. She never questioned her father as to why; she only respected the warriors enough to keep her eyes towards the ground.

Igaguri straddled his horse as he looked down to the rest of his warriors before signalling for them to move out. His eyes looking to Sheena once more as he hesitated at first before breathing out once, knowing he would never wish to betray the visions that his meditations granted him.

"Come Sheena." Igaguri called out suddenly, noticing some of the warriors stop their march to look over for a moment in surprise and some even dared to look in the direction of Igaguri with resentment on a woman being called to fight alongside them, it did not help that Sheena was trained as a ninja and as such was seen as not worthy of marching along side a warrior.

"Wh-what?" Sheena blinked in a bewildered manner.

"I won't say it again." Igaguri spoke in a stiff tone.

Sheena's lips parted in dismay for a second before she snapped too and gave a nod, she ran to catch up to the rest of the warriors of the village, keeping her eyes to the ground because she did not wish to meet with the glaring eyes that she felt was on her. Sheena placed her hand lightly on her tanto as if making sure it was still there and then confirming to herself that her master seals were still with her that she would be able to use if combat happened.

"Hold your head high when you walk with us." A stern voice scolded her.

The voice startled her as she rose her head and glanced over to the source of the voice but her mind told her already who it was. She looked up to see the crimson helmet belonging to Uesugi; he stared forward without looking at her while speaking.

"You do not want to give the image of submission or weakness while you walk with the Kanshisha." Uesugi voiced with a slight hint of distain.

"I..Ah…al-alright." Sheena spoke softly.

"You are not ready for this." Uesugi pointed out, noting her timid nervousness.

"I don't think I ever was." Sheena confessed, pointing out that she was brought up as a woman and in their society a woman served her husband, raised the kids and protected the house and its honour should enemies invade the village. Most woman were trained to fight for their house if need be; however, Sheena took it a step further and trained in the art of Ninjitsu. If she was to make it through this experience she would need the encouragement from her future husband, she was fishing a bit but she did not think it so wrong.

"You are correct with that statement." Uesugi responded while walking ahead of Sheena.

Or not.

-Scene change-

Lloyd walked through the maze of trees, ignoring the tension that he felt off his own men as the mutters behind the commander did not cease. Only served to prove Lloyd's point that the men he was given were not ready for the task at hand and that the Church was either trying to be rid of him in some twist of politics or that perhaps they depended on his image of fear far too much to be able to bring inexperienced warriors to a possible battle.

"You think what they say is true?" Zelos whispered in a low, edgy tone.

"And what would that be?" Lloyd asked calmly while his eyes searched through the tree trunks, trying to see through the light mist that clouded the distance.

"You think Gaoracchia Forest is actually haunted?" the red-haired commander asked.

"No, I don't…" Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"But when you think about—" Zelos started.

"No." Lloyd interrupted.

"I was just going to sa—"  
"No." Lloyd enforced.

"Just thinking you know…this mist is pretty ghostly." Zelos stated, his eyes searching the area.

"You think too much." Lloyd replied as he put more speed into his step, making distance between himself and Zelos.

Zelos blinked as he stopped in mid-step. "Father never accused me of that before."

Nothing could prepare the commander for the ambush that awaited him deep in the Gaoracchia Forest; nor could he be prepared for the events that would follow afterwards that would change his life forever.


	3. Flames of battle

Chapter 3

Lloyd glanced around the trees, something did not seem right about the air; the tension was so thick that it actually unnerved the commander, his eyes continued to dart around the foggy area as he tried to locate the source of his tension.

The sudden and abrupt grunt behind him made Lloyd's head twist suddenly as he grabbed both hilts of his swords by instinct. An arrow was embedded into the chest of one of the soldiers as the man grabbed at the wooden shaft and dropped to his knees, eyes filled with realization which was quickly followed with terror.

"We're under attack!" Was one of the many calls from the soldiers.

"Hold your position! Rally together!" Lloyd yelled as he pulled free both his swords.

The thunderous sound of war cries sounded from the depths of the mist, the screams coming from all around them; this only served to shake the nerves of Lloyd's soldiers even more as they started to fidget in a panicked manner.

"They'll all around us!"

"Steady men…steady!" Lloyd growled.

A volley of arrows sliced through the air, parting the mist, stabbing into more of Lloyd's men as they fell to the ground. Lloyd slashed once as an arrow harmlessly shattered to the side. The next thing to emerge from the mist were the screaming figures of armoured warriors whose faces were concealed behind demonic masks, the sudden appearance of the their charging foe only shattered what little courage the soldiers were grasping to in order to remain in spot.

"Goddess be damned, I told you to hold your spot!" Lloyd screamed as his men broke formation, most of them to run away. The soldiers that did stay could not stand in wait as they charged recklessly to the enemy. "No! Pull back!" Lloyd yelled, watching as arrows continued to sing through the air and hit into the bodies of his men. Lloyd managed to gather a dozen men along with Zelos and pulled them to him as they tried to move as a small organized unit, the sounds of screams filled the air as Lloyd's eyes followed the conflicts around him, watching as his panicked men were slaughtered at the hands of their foes, slashed through by the enemies blades, impaled by enemy spears or shot down by arrows. The sound of pounding hooves gained Lloyd's attention as he stared forward in time to see a line of eight warriors charging into the fray on horseback, cutting down any soldier that they came across as the eight made their way towards Lloyd and his small group.

"Brace yourselves men." Lloyd commanded while staring down the charging horses.

The next moment became a blur as Lloyd clashed his blades against the thrusting power of a spear from the charge; the impact from the spear sent Lloyd crashing face first to the ground. Lloyd let out a deep breath to regain his lost air while rolling onto the flat of his back which allowed him to notice another figure on horseman, lifting up what looked like an edged sword on a pole arm and slash down toward the ground; Lloyd rolled to the side to dodge the oncoming attack and then snapped the wooden staff with his sword before standing to his feet. Another warrior charged towards Lloyd, slashing his sword at head level, Lloyd hit the sword with his other sword and jumped in the air to slash across the man's back, making him fall off his horse as he hit the ground. Lloyd knew he hit plate, he knew the feel of plate against his sword. Lloyd dragged his swords along the ground while dashing towards the dismounted warrior, the energy of demon fang ripped through the ground, tossing up dirt and rocks before crashing into the recovering warrior, following up the attack, Lloyd jumpped up into the air Lloyd drove his swords into the warrior, hearing the gurgle before watching the warrior fall limp to the ground.

The battle cry from another warrior gained his attention as Lloyd turned to see the duel-wielding warrior charge. Lloyd took a bracing stance as he clashed his swords into his enemies, both their swords clashed hard in an exchanging series of strikes before Lloyd managed to parry the guys main sword out of the way and then stabbed with the other, having the sword stab into the eye socket of the warrior and then kicking the warrior off his sword so the slain warrior hit the ground lifelessly.

Lloyd gave a breathless gasp as an arrow pierced into the right side of his ribcage, shattering a rib on entry. The pressure inside his chest almost made him drop his sword. Lloyd felt his soldier training kick in as he transformed the pain to strength and then let out a challenging scream and ran forward, slashing, cutting and stabbing his way through his enemies, he did not care that his slashes only knocked some of the warriors off balance because the plate protected them. Lloyd soon found himself surrounded by the same plated warriors as he breathed out, looking around to try and spot anymore of his men. The brief scan of the landscape made him realize that many of them now laid on the ground, slain by the enemy; however, Lloyd managed to spot Zelos in the distance as the red-haired commander looked over as if on cue to see Lloyd's predicament before turning and disappearing into the mist to retreat from the battle.

'_So…this is how…I shall perish…_' Lloyd groaned as he stabbed his left sword into the ground and then ripped the arrow out from his chest, tossing it to side before reclaiming his sword.

One of the warriors stepped out from the circle to stab at Lloyd with his spear, Lloyd rolled with the blow, dropping his left sword again so he could grab the shaft of the pole arm and yanked the warrior towards him, slashing hard while the warrior was disarmed, his sword cutting through the neck of the warrior easily as his body fell forward, instantly claimed by death. Lloyd let out a grunt as another arrow slammed into Lloyd's left collarbone, the arrow head scarping alone the bone as he staggered backwards, grabbing his discarded sword while recovering. Lloyd already felt the mobility of his arm being robbed from him as the pressure of the arrow inside his body agonized him.

Igaguri trotted through the mist as he found himself gazing upon the sight that he had already seen in his meditation, the Gods had yet to lie to him. Their last enemy, despite the odds, refused to surrender and choose to fight to his last.

Two warriors stepped out from the circle, one from Lloyd's right and the other from behind. Lloyd twisted his body and stepped forward, slamming his sword hilts into his enemies to gain distance again before violently thrusting forward with lightning speed repeatedly until the blades edge managed to tear through the plate of the warrior; unfortunately, while Lloyd disposed of the first warrior, he was rewarded with the blinding pain of feeling a sword stab into his left hip from behind. Screaming in agony, Lloyd turned to swipe wildly at the enemy only to find that his enemy had stabbed and stepped out of threat range. Just as he turned, another warrior ran passed him and slid the edge of his sword along Lloyd's right arm, making the commander drop the sword. The moment that happened, another arrow pierced into Lloyd's back as he felt his body spasm and his back arched in reaction to the pain which caused him to fall to his knees.

'_Damn it…damn them all…_' Lloyd thought in agony.

Lloyd looked forward just in time to see a warrior in red plate step out from the circle, lifting his sword in the air to show that he would finish this. Lloyd could only cough out once he gazed helplessly at the warrior, watching as the man rested his blade against Lloyd's forehead before raising it high. Feeling another surge of energy course through his body, Lloyd suddenly jumped into the air, spinning at an incredible speed in activation of Tempest as his sword clashed against the armour of the red warrior. Lloyd landed to his feet from behind the warrior and then spun around with a slash as the edge of his blade hit against the helmet of the man, actually knocking the helmet off as the man staggered forward and then regained himself enough to turn around and face the wounded commander.

Igaguri blinked once, actually impressed by the young man's resolve; the chief slide off his horse and landed to his feet.

Sheena just now emerged from the mist just in time to see the face-off between the commander and her future husband, her heart skipped a beat the moment she saw the showdown.

Both swords clashed together before the red warrior shoved his blade against Lloyd, knowing that the man was too wounded to provide full strength and providing Uesugi the window of opening he needed. The red warrior buried his sword into the left of Lloyd's chest, staring into the man's eyes, wishing to see the life fade from his enemy's eyes.

Lloyd gasped out feeling the invasion of cold steel; he knew he should be gasping for air but that thought did not occur to him as he kicked the man in the chest, surprising the red warrior was he staggered back and Lloyd only did as instinct directed him. Lloyd slashed horizontally and before his very eyes he watched as the edge of sword cleaved through the exposed head of the red warrior, watching as Uesugi fell to the ground.

Igaguri's eyes went wide as his lips opened very slightly in surprise. His eyes turned to look to Sheena to see her face become instantly pale as she watched the man that was to be her husband slain before her very eyes. She looked absolutely horrified as her fingers covered over her mouth in a shock that made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Uesugi…no…" Sheena whimpered before feeling her sorrow twist into hate.

Before anyone could react, Sheena dashed forward, pulling out her tanto as she screamed in fury. Lloyd looked ahead to see Sheena dashing at him as he raised his sword; Sheena was not going to let this man live after killing her would-be husband, he did not have her family name yet but she was going to be damned if she would let him dishonour her this way. Leaping into the air, Sheena slammed her tanto into the murderer's sword, using her force and weight against the man as she forced the sword from his grip. Giving an aggressive growl, Sheena sliced her tanto across Lloyd's chest and then jumped into the air, high enough as her leg kicked at him, slamming into the but of the arrow that was embedded into his left collarbone, forcing the arrow out the back of his body.

Lloyd felt his knees buckle as he crashed to the ground again, his fingers lacing around the head of a chopped off spear that was discarded. His head dropped, the loss of blood was robbing his energy.

"Look at me…murderer." Sheena hissed.

The only thing he saw at this moment were the purple boots of the woman who had fought him; Lloyd slowly lifted his head up, his eyes scanning up her body slowly before he met with his assailants rich brown eyes, they were filled with such anger and sorrow. Lloyd felt the steel of her tanto pressed against his neck, narrowing his eyes for a moment Lloyd used the last of his energy to fling his arm towards her while holding the spear head; the speed of the female kicked it to the side as the spearhead was thrown from his grasp, bouncing off the ground. She slid her tanto from Lloyd's neck, using his own force against him, her tanto stabbing deep into Lloyd's forearm to punish him before she threw his arm to the side.

'_This is…how it ends…how sad…_' Lloyd thought as kept his eyes locked onto the brown eyes of the purple ninja, the tip of the tanto was pressed against the bottom of his jaw.

Igaguri breathed out once, watching the event unfold before his eyes as he looked up towards the sky. He did not completely understand the vision that the meditation gave him, but the gods gave it to him for some reason…and because of that, he could not dispose of this life so easily…there was something about the young, resilient, brave, and determined man fallen before his daughter…valorous like a warrior should be.

"Sheena!" Igaguri called out just as Sheena was about to twist the tanto through the bottom of his head, about to slice into his brain. She froze as she huffed out once, staring deep into the man's eyes with nothing but unwavering hate. "Sheena…lower your weapon." Igaguri commanded.

"Bu...but…father." Sheena called out, sorrow returning to her voice.

"Sheena!" Uesugi stated in a sharp, biting tone.

Sheena released Lloyd's neck, wiping the bloody tanto against the commander's uniform before pushing her tanto against him, the light force actually caused him to drop to the ground.

"Take him with us." Igaguri commanded as the warriors nodded. Igaguri glanced over to Sheena as she turned and walked away from Lloyd, her head drawn low, watered tears dropping to the ground as she stopped to look over to the slain Uesugi. There was a reason why the Gods wanted this to happen and he had to admit that there was something about this fearless enemy. "Gather the fallen, they deserve the respects of a warrior." Igaguri voiced while walking over to his steed.


End file.
